Here we are in that sweet, weird spot between Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve. The end is near for 2020, not that the Cursed Year will stop giving. I’m sure corona will follow us into 2021, though — knock on wood — surely it won’t mess the entire year up as it did 2020. I’ve taken the last few days ‘off’, book & blogging wise, and have focused instead on hiking, spending time with family, and getting the dashcam I bought last year working. Check out my little Christmas eve drive in town!
I have thoughtfully muted my singing and included instead some royalty free music from Youtube to play. (Although if you want to hear me sing, there is a recording on youtube of me doing “Good King Wenceslas”….)
The final reads for 2020 will be The Ends of the Earth by Isaac Asimov (almost done), and Mama’s Last Hug, on animal emotions. That one is very good but my progress is continually slowed by all the holiday goings-on. There’s five days yet, so I may knock out The Awakening of Miss Prim or A Time for Mercy before January 1st arrives — but I’m plotting more hiking this weekend, so who knows. Speaking of January 1st, there’s a post scheduled for that day: the unveiling of the Classics Club Strikes Back, the next set of fifty classics I’ll be working through for the next 3-5 years.
Next year’s plans include the Classics Cub Strikes Back, the final conquest of Mount Doom, and (hopefully) more content with an Alabama & southern lit focus. I anticipate a strong 2021 for both historical fiction and science, and am hoping to start including the odd bit of video content with a history focus. Last year I began thinking about ways to share information about interesting people and places in my area that I’ve encountered, and a lot of camera time this year (thanks to livestream activities) has made me a little more comfortable moving beyond text.
Reading Freely 
it seems like a nice, comfortable place, well spread out, good for bikes, and with none of those ghastly monstrous glass and concrete monstrosities… and lots of trees, a sure sign of culture and civilization… tx for the show!
The glass and concrete monstrosities are all on Highland Avenue — the walmart, mcdonalds, etc. lineup. Glad you enjoyed it!
Selma is so historical. Neat that you live there. Alabama is one of my favorite states. Nostalgia I suppose. Hope your Christmas was Merry and have a blessed New Year!
Selma has the largest historic district in the state. 🙂 Happy New Year!
I have a weird fondness for cemeteries – that one is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing the tour.
Also, you sing very well! At the Anglican church I used to attend, very few of the men wanted to sing in the choir or special pieces. It’s so nice when someone wants to (and can!).
Thanks! Yes, Old Live Oak is a beauty. The bit that I drove through only shows a few of the graves. It’s not Natchez or New Orleans, but it’s an absolute sight. I’ve heard that one of its statues is one of the most photographed in the state. It’s of Elodie Dawson, the sister-in-law of Lincoln’s wife. If I remember the story correctly, her husband sent for the statue from Italy ($7000), didn’t like the hair, and sent it back with an order for another statue (also $7000). Elodie didn’t like walking in direct sun, and she’d do a double-time scamper to get back under the shade. Her family called it “Elodie’s walk”, and when the cemetary was planned, they planted many of those Live Oaks in her honor. 🙂
This is the statue:
https://www.ruralswalabama.org/attraction/elodie-todd-dawson-monument-selma-live-oak-cemetery/
Oh, and thanks for the compliment on the singing! I’m a tenor in our choir, and it is very difficult to scrape up people who are willing to sing at all, let alone parts. I wouldn’t sing solo until this year forced me out of my shell…a friend of mine and I did a duet of “Be Thou my Vision” for the livestream.
Wowww…. $7000 in the 1800s?! It does have very nice hair, though. 😆
It should, for that price! I just found the photographs I took at Old Live Oak when I’d just purchased my smartphone and was testing its camera. Naturally there’s one of Elodie. XD
https://readingfreely.com/2018/03/18/testing-testing/
What a cool historic town! Thanks for sharing. I think it’s fun to see how other bloggers live.
Looking forward to the unveiling of your CC Strikes Back list!
Happy New Year!